Air Suspension or Coils?

[A4Owner]

I live in the city and the roads I drive on are ****. I also have a place our in the country and the roads there are perfect.

Does the a/s work better over cracked and crumbling roads, and are their any benefits on the highway?

Has anyone ever simultaneously owned a LTD or LHorn with a/s and a 2nd one with coils, in the city and driven both on horrible roads?

 

[rtxrt]

So I had a 13 Big Horn, 14 Limited and currently a 25 Limited all with the Air Suspension and compared to any other truck including a 25 Lone Star I owned for a few months I can honestly say I absolutely love mine. Driving over the same roads you can feel the difference. I have a strip of road near my place that seema to have been laid in such a way to have both wide and uneven expansion joints. With my air suspension I just hear the tire slap but don't really feel it.. With the coils on my Lonestar it was noticeable in terms of bumps, and with leaf springs yeah it would make itself known...

The thing to know is that it's not without compromise, for instance if you live in an area with extreme cold it can take a while for it to work in the morning due to the cold and it can cause suspension droop until the compressor warms up enough to air things up, and definitely you will hear it going to keep things level even when the truck is off.

But ultimately I would say get some seat time ( either through a test drive or rent one on Turo) and decide for yourself. But in my opinion it's definitely worth it.

Keep in mind that the Air Suspension is standard for the higher trims (limited and tungsten) but you can option it on Big Horn and up. So it's not necessary only on the high dollar trims.

Hope that helps.

 

[boogielander]

im team coil any day.
air suspension is just more headache later down the line. i've dealt with way too many air suspension across different platforms from customer vehicles to even consider one.

plus, with the coil suspension if you wnat to upgrade to something more legit and performance oriented (Fox 2.5, Kings, Carli, Thuren, etc) it is direct swap and no delete kit required. makes it a lot more easier to level with Bilstein 5100s vs some kind of links that trick the computer on air.

ride quality wise... stock coil suspension may leave rooms for improvement as @rtxrt said above, BUT if you run 18" wheels on 33s or even 35s on high end suspension package (Fox 2.5 to be exact as it does have dual speed adjustment vs King with single speed at most) your ride will be just fine. You can even firm it up for spirited driving with the Fox 2.5 and eliminate a lot of body roll and take corners better than a lot of sedans and even coupes out there.

 

[dajogejr]

Love/Hate with my air ride on my previous 15 and my current 23 limited.
So far, 100% trouble free on my 23.

It was one of the reasons I traded my 2015 in at 140K plus miles.
I had it into the dealer no less than 3 to 4 times, the last time it was 6 weeks…for the air ride.

Although I had, on my 15, Max Care with unlimited miles (Original owner only back then) and my deductible was $100.. it wasn’t worth the headache anymore.

It’s a main reason I picked up 8year, 125K Max Care online my 23. Hope to never have to use it… but the Max care more than tripled the value I paid for it on my 15…

Ride is amazing. Compared to Platinum Ford, Denali GM.. I’ll take the air ride quality any day.
But, if you plan on lifting it or otherwise modifying, not the easiest course to do so…as boogielander mentioned.

 

[A4Owner]

Yeah I'm leaning to coils for the whole less-is-more side of the equation.

Though it would be nice to have a 6,000 pound vehicle that just "glides" over bumps and cracks.

 

[stevj]

As a member of an older generation I found the air suspension height adjustability, in combination with the A-pillar assist handle, a great help when getting in or out of the Ram.
My Ram originally came with 22" wheels that rode a bit too rough for my comfort, so traded for some 18" wheels and tires from a Rebel and the ride became much more tolerable with the added tire sidewall.
But if I had to choose, I'd take coils for the simplicity.

Steve

 

[boogielander]

Yeah I'm leaning to coils for the whole less-is-more side of the equation.

Though it would be nice to have a 6,000 pound vehicle that just "glides" over bumps and cracks.

then fox 2.5 dsc with 35s on 18" wheels is what you need.

 

[A4Owner]

But again a/s is [materially/marginally] better over busted up pavement than coils?

 

[rtxrt]

But again a/s is [materially/marginally] better over busted up pavement than coils?

Unfortunately that all depends is the honest answer. The worst it would be is marginally better in terms of the comfort. But again I'd highly recommend a test drive if possible to make that determination for your situation.

 

[Willwork4truck]

A/S is complex and will eventually fail, costing you (if kept long enough) serious coin. Coils generally are fine for the total life of the truck.
For a homeowner who only occasionally went to H Depot for bags of dirt, mulch or concrete blocks, having the A/S with auto-level was nice. Coils would still sag.
Wintertime up north, coils for longevity and simplicity. Don't know if they've totally fixed the issues however look back in the threads about A/S in 2013-2019 and you'll read lots of grief. I was a bit concerned about my 2019 but it went away...
Owning for 5 years or less? Especially if you are a "trade every 3 years" type, the A/S really costs you nothing except for the trim level differences.
For reading, try: RAM Air Suspension Problems: Fixes and Hacks Explained
and

https://www.reddit.com/r/ram_trucks/comments/ttcbb3/a_precautionary_tale_of_the_famous_ram_air

.
Again, Stellantis may have dialed this in by now.
One of the replies on the Reddit thread (link above) said this: "2021 Ram truck with air suspension operates as a "closed system," meaning the air within the suspension system is not exchanged with outside air, and is typically filled with pressurized nitrogen, allowing for consistent pressure and performance without concerns about moisture buildup or contamination." So maybe it's better. Still doesn't protect you from cracked or leaking fittings, seals or lines etc...

 

[Willwork4truck]

Don't know what caused all the space in the post above, tech and I are like oil and water...

 

[OldMarine]

the adjustable Air Suspension is a MUST HAVE in my opinion if you plan on towing. The pleasure I get seeing the jaws drop when someone watches me back up to a trailer in the lowest setting, get right under the coupler in one try, then hit the "raise" button and the hitch ball rises right up into the coupler! Ha! ya...it's the simple things.

 

[1BADRAMLIMITED]

Just my .02 I have had my limited for close to 3 years and it’s great in highway and smooth paved city streets but any off road or rough terrain I wish I would have went with coil and did something similar to boogie’s setup. My limited also tows great on smooth roads.

Recently I went to pick up a new zero turn from a guy out in the sticks and had to go down half gravel road and tore up asphalt and my truck did not like it resulting in a error message for air suspension. So I slowed down and it went away and decided to take it easy.

 

[Willwork4truck]

Wonder what made you get the error.

 

[1BADRAMLIMITED]

Wonder what made you get the error.

I have no clue and wish I took a pic of it. I was going about 45-50 down the road and hit a good part that was like a wash board and popped up, slowed down to about 25-30 and swerved all the big ruts and it went away and was fine afterwards.

 

[PurpleRT]

Coils for simplicity. This isn’t a leaf spring truck the ride is still damn smooth. AS might be slightly better but thats also if its ends up being problem free and if there is an issue.. you more then likely gotta rely on the dealerships service center which lets be honest is mostly trashed and the history of Stellantis and backordered parts is a very real possibility. Coils on the other hand.. suspension wise worse case theres aftermarket parts that will perform just as good if not better and easily available within a few days.

But in your case.. maybe test drive both and make your own decision on whats the better option for you.


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

 

[Willwork4truck]

Agree with the above. Simplicity over complexity if all other things are equal or close to.
RAM has traded payload for ride quality and for many drivers that was a good swap. It was for me anyway.
If I towed close to an 8K TT it would be an F150 3.5 turbo with their (more rare) payload option and 3.73’s. Beats our coils any day.

 

[A4Owner]

This is a fairly easy a/s system to manage though isn't it? Just gotta keep the main valve body heated on super cold days. But that's interesting that coils are smoother on rough pavement. I'm not actually surprised.

 

[mikeru82]

We've owned three 5th gen 1500's, one without a/s and two with it. I honestly thought the truck without a/s (2020 Laramie) had a better ride. It came with 20's while the two Limited's with a/s came with 22's, and that may have been the difference. I wouldn't get a/s if all you want it for is potentially a smoother ride. My reason for liking it is to be able tot raise the height for maintenance reasons and lower it for ease of entry/exit.

 

[Blackdog.Tx]

RAM is most comfortable ride of all trucks. But if you tow/haul heavy, its gonna squat without A/S.

Running the a/s at normal height softens ride. Running at off road 2, it is stiff. But you want it stiffer when you need thw clearance.

My current RAM has A/S, I love it. I tow 4500 lbs a lot with full cab, so I'm near max payload. And I haul 1200 lbs from time to time. It's a 2020 with 49,000 miles in FL, no issues with A/S. I love hitching up and riding level.

My past RAMs with coils were great. Ran them 40,000 mi/yr.... Infrequent towing 3800 lbs and a little hauling. The trucks rode well with coils, but still squatted with coils.

If the A/s gives me problems, I'll replace with coils set to tow. Since 2012, I've been a RAM guy.